Expansible newspaper bag



June 21, 1966 Filed Mar M. A. OGLETREE EXPANSIBLE NEWSPAPER BAG 3 Sheets-Sheet l INVENTOR HTTORIVEXT June 21, 1966 M. A. OGLETREE 3,256,919.

INVENTOR.

Mar v/n A. Oglefr'cc A TTOR/VEYJ June 21, 1966 INVENTOR. Mam m 14. O /efree.

ATTORNEYS.

United States Patent 3,256,919 EXPANSIBLE NEWSPAPER BAG Marvin A. Ogletree, Toledo, Ohio, assignor of one-half to William E. Hoopes, Toledo, Ohio Filed Mar. 22, 1965, Ser. No. 446,463 1 Claim. (Cl. 150-1) This application is a continuation-in-part of my copending application Serial No. 268,417, filed on March 27, 1963, now abandoned.

This invention relates .to an expansible newspaper bag and more particularly to a newspaper bag having at least one sidewall of expansible material to enable .the bag to accommodate newspapers of varying size.

Newspaper bags heretofore have been made of canvas to withstand the rough abuse to which they are subjected. One of the biggest problems encountered with newspaper bags is that the size vof the newspaper varies considerably .from day 'to day and from season to season. For example, it is not uncommon for .a paper to vary from over 80 pages on a Wednesday to only 30 pages on a Saturday, all within the same week. The size problem is increased when the carrier rolls the papers prior :to delivery to facilitate throwing them to the desired destination and to prevent wind blowing them away. In an attempt to overcome the problem of varying size of newspapers, many carriers buy two bags of difierent sizes, thus requiring a double investment which is not to be taken lightly when consideration is given to the funds available to the average newspaper carrier. Even with two sizes, the bags are frequently overloaded as the size of the newspaper varies and this overloading, in combination with the normal rough abuse, serves to shorten the lives of the bags even further, two months not being uncommon.

The present invention relates to an expansible newspaper vbag which overcomes the above disadvantages and has a number of advantages. The new bag has a portion of the sidewalls thereof made of resilient material, particularly one capable of stretching only in one direction, with this material being oriented to yield resiliently in only a horizontal direction when the bag is .in its .usual carrying position. The new bag enables both SO-page and 80-plus-page newspapers to be accommodated. Further, and somewhat surprisingly, it has been found that the life of the newspaper bag has been increased by a substantial amount, sometimes severalfold. This may be due to the fact that the usual canvas of the bag is not strained unduly when the .bag is stuffed with larger papers, but whatever the reason, the extended life alone renders the bags economical on a :cost-per-nnit-of-time basis although the original cost may be somewhat higher than that of conventional bags. Because of the adaptability of the bag to the varying sized newspapers, it -is also no longer necessary for-the carrierto buy .two bags of different sizes, so that the need for two bags and the inconvenience and extra investment required previously are eliminated.

Itv has been discovered that the use of the one-way stretch material is important because if two-way stretch material is employed, the newspapers tend to jostle out of the bag during normal movement of .the carrier or the vehicle on which the bag is .carried, this apparently being due to the vertical resiliency of the two-way stretch material. In addition, it is preferable that only part .of the sidewalls of the bag be made of resilient material. If all of the sidewalls are made of resilient material, again the newspapers have a tendency to jostle out and there is also a tendency for the carrier to overload the bag. This is particularly of importance for younger newspaper carriers when the overloading may result in a serious physical strain on the boy.

Another feature of the newspaper bag in accordance with the invention is that it can be provided with a detachable weather flap for protecting the newspapers during inclement weather, especially rain and snow. Heretofore, the canvas newspaper bags have been sold with integral canvas flaps. These flaps not only add to the cost of the newspaper bag but .are in the way when not needed. In addition, the canvas flap is not always as waterproof as is desirable and, further, hides the newspapers ,carried in the bag so that the carrier must lift the flap in order to determine the number of newspapers remaining. The new newspaper bag employs a detachable flap, preferably of a transparent plastic material. The new flap has a particular advantage that it can be removed .dnring good weather. when it is not needed so that it will not be constantly in the Way. The flap has a second important advantage in ,that each time a newspaper .bag is purchased, it can be without .the flap so .that the overall cost of .the .bag will be less. Because .the flaps seldom wear out, one flap will serve to outlive a number of bags. Being transparent, the contents .of :the bag can be easily ascertained without the necessity .of raising the flap and swinging it to one side, and being of plastic material, the flap is completely waterproof.

It is, therefore, a principal object of the invention to provide a newspaper hag capable of handling newspapers of widely different sizes.

Another object of the invention is to provide .a newspaper bag having a much longer life than those heretofore known.

Still another object of the invention is to ,provide a newspaper bag with a resilient sidewall capable .of stretching horizontally when the bag is filled with newspapers.

Yet another .object .of the invention is to provide a newspaper bag with a detachable weather flap.

Various other objects of the invention will be apparent from the following detailed description of preferred embodiments thereof, reference being made to the ,accompanying drawings, in which:

FIG. -1 is a view in perspective, with parts .broken away, of ,anempty newspaper bag embodying the invention with a detachable weather flap in place;

FIG. 2 is a greatly enlarged, detailed view taken along the line 2-2 of FIG. 1 and showing .a connection for the newspaper bag and flap;

FIG. 3 is a view in perspective similar to FIG. 1 of an empty modified newspaper bag embodying the invention, and without the weather flap;

FIG. 4 is -a view in perspective ,on a smaller scale of a slightly modified bag embodying the invention;

FIG. .5 .is a view in perspective of the newspaper bag of FIG. 1, without the weather flap, and .filled with a given number of rolled newspapers ,of a given size;

.FIG. .6 is a :view 'in perspective of the .bag of FIGS. 1 and 5, but filled with a given number of rolled newspapers of much larger size;

FIG. 7 is a smaller view in perspective of the newspaper bag .of FIG. '3, but filled with .unrolled newspapers;

FIG. 8 is a view in perspective similar ,to FIG. 3 of a modified newspaper bag embodying the invention; and

FIG. .9 is a fragmentary view from a .difierent ,perspeotive of the bag of FIG. 8. 1

Referring to the drawings, and more particularly to FIG. 1, :a newspaper bag .acording to the .invention is indicated at 10 and includes a canvas rear panel or wall =12, side panels or Walls 1 4 and 1.6, and :a bottom panel 17 with all -three of the latter panel-s being made jof gasingle piece of canvas. A front panel .or 3:8 "is of resilient one-way stretch material which will be discussed more fully subsequently. A carrying strap 2020f canvas is sewn or otherwise suitably aifixed .to the .opposite side Patented June 21, 1966 3 panels 14 and 16 to enable the bag to be carried on the shoulders of a newspaper carrier with the front panel 18 facing outwardly. The bag 10 also includes a detachable weather flap at 22 which will be discussed more fully subsequently.

The construction of the bag is relatively simple since the basic bag includes only three panels, such as the rear panel 12, the front panel 18, and the one-piece side panels 14 and 16 and bottom #17. The rear and front panels 12 and 18 are sewn to the side panels 14 and 16 and bottom after the meeting edges are turned back so that a secure stitch can be obtained through four thicknesses of the materials. The upper edges of the rear panel 12 and the side panels 14 and 16 can also be turned in to provide a smooth, reinforced edge while the resilient panel 18, if provided with a reinforced selvage edge, needs no special doubling back or other reinforcement. By way of a specific illustration, the newspaper bag 10, when empty, measures inches long, 10 /2 inches wide, and 12 inches deep. The strap 20 is 48 inches long, which is longer than the strap of the ordinary newspaper bag, to assure that there will be a sufficient loop remaining when the newspaper bag 10 is filled with large newspapers and stretched.

The resilient panel 18, as indicated, is of one-way stretch material with the warp threads being resilient and with the woof threads or weft being much less resilient so that the material stretches primarily in one direction. The warp threads run horizontally, parallel to the upper edge of the panel 18 so that the panel 18 can give or resiliently yield in a horizontal direction when filled with newspapers, particularly larger ones. On the other hand, the panel 18 yields or stretches very little in a vertical direction when filled with newspapers because of the nonresilient woof threads of the panel. The one-way stretch material is of particular importance because it has been discovered that if the material stretches vertically to any large extent, the newspapers tend to be jostled out of the bag as the carrier moves along or as the vehicle, such as a bicycle, is moved and bumped over driveways, curbs, cracks, etc. Also of importance, it has been found that a newspaper bag utilizing two-Way stretch material, stretching equally in both directions, tends to sag excessively when filled with newspapers, thereby making the bag more difficult to carry and handle. A preferred oneway stretch material for the panel 18 is available from George C. Moore Company of Westerly, Rhode Island. Another satisfactory one-way material is available from Charbert Elastic Sales Corporation, 350 Fifth Avenue,

New York 1, New York. Specifically, the latter material is known as Style No. 320 and contains 32.8% rubber, 28.6% nylon, and 38.6% rayon.

The newspaper bag 10 is shown in FIGS. 5 and 6 when filled with newspapers. In FIG. 5, the bag 10 includes a given number of newspapers 24, each of which contains pages. The papers 24 are rolled in the usual manner and placed vertically in the bag 10 with the lower ends resting on the bottom panel and the upper ends protruding above the sidewalls of the bag. When a given number of the newspapers 24 are inserted in the bag 10, the front panel 18 stretches very little, if at all, since the newspapers 24 are about as small as will be encountered for a given locality. In FIG. 6, the newspaper bag 10 is filled with newspapers 26. There are the same number of the newspapers 26 as there are the newspapers 24, but, in this instance, the newspapers 26 each contain about 80 pages with the result that they are thicker and in particular that their diameter is substantially larger when rolled in the usualmanner and inserted vertically in the bag. In this instance, the front panel 18 is stretched substantially and the bag 10 is distorted but is still perfectly capable of carrying out its intended function. With conventional newspaper bags, the same number of the newspapers 26 will stretch the bag '10 excessively, if they are capable of all being inserted in the bag at once, and

4 will hasten the failure thereof substantially. If all the papers cannot be placed in the conventional bag, it may be necessary to make two trips or at least to employ two bags of different sizes as previously discussed.

A slightly modified newspaper bag 28 is shown in FIG. 3 and can be used to carry fiat, unrolled newspapers. In some localities, the papers are required to be delivered fiat and in such instances, the bag 28- has particular utility. In this instance, the bag 28 has a rear canvas panel or wall 30 which is similar to the wall 12 of the bag 10 and also has side panels 32 and 34 and a bottom 35 of similar size and shape as the side panels 14 and 16 and the bottom 17 of the bag 10, but, however, the panels 32 and 34 and the bottom 35 are made of one-way stretch material. As in the bag 10, the one-way stretch material of the bag 28 is oriented so that it is capable of stretching substantially only in a horizontal direction and the material itself can be the same as that employed in the bag 10. A front panel 36 is similar in size and shape to the panel 18 of the bag 10 but is made of canvas material as the rear panel 30. A carrying strap 38 extends diagonally across the bag 28 between one corner portion of the rear panel 30 and the opposite corner portion of the front panel 36 rather than between the side panels. This is important to enable the strap 38 to be attached to non-resilient side panels since otherwise the bag would tend to bounce as it is carried. The diagonal strap also provides support for both of the front and rear panels 36 and 30. If the strap were connected only to the rear panel 30, the front panel 36 would be supported only through the resilient side panels 32 and 34. With the bottom 35 and the side panels 32 and 34 of the resilient material the front and rear panels can spread apart parallelly to be particularly effective for receiving fiat newspapers.

The newspaper bag 28 functions similarly to the bag 10 but is especially adapted for flat newspapers as shown in FIG. 7, with papers 39 being flat and lying vertically. With the side panels 32 and 34 of resilient material, the rear and front panels 30 and 36 can move apart'parallelly as newspapers are received between them.

It may be noted that not only do the bags 10 and 28 employ side panels of the one-way stretchable material oriented to stretch only in a horizontal direction, but

that only part of the side walls of both of the bags 10 and 28 are made of the resilient material. In practice, it has been found that only from 15% to 70% of the area of the walls of the bag, and preferably from 25% to is of the resilient material. If the resilient material constitutes less than the lower range, there is insufficient elasticity in the bag to make it adaptable for all sizes of newspapers to be encountered. On the other hand, if the amount of resilient material in the bag exceeds the upper end of the range, the bag will have more capacity than can be reasonably handled. Further, because the one-way resilient material is usually more expensive than the non-resilient canvas, the cost of the bag is increased without a corresponding increase in benefits. With the bag 28, about of all the walls and bottom is of the resilient material in the embodiment shown, but can be much higher, depending on the width of the bag.

A slightly modified bag indicated at 40 is shown in FIG. 4. The bag 40 actually constitutes two bag portions 42 and 44 which are similar to the bag 10 except that the rear panels of the bags 42 and 44 are connected by a canvas web 46. The web 46 can be integral with the rear panels so that the two rear panels and web 46 constitute but one piece of material. The web 46 can then be extended across a bicycle fender 48 or the like when papers are delivered by bicycle.

Referring now in more detail to the weather flap 22 of FIGS. 1 and 2, the flap has suitable connections at the rear corners thereof to enable it to be detachably connected to suitable connections at the rear corners of the rear panel 12 of the bag 10. In this manner, the flap 22 can be left off the bag during fair weather so that it will not be in the Way. During inclement weather, the flap 22 can be snapped into place and used in the usual manner. Because the flap 22 is used very little, it has a long life and will 'outwear several bags, even the long-lived bags and 28. Hence when a new bag is to be purchased, there is no necessity of buying a weather flap, too.

While any suitable detachable connections can be used for the flap 22 and the bag 10, as shown in FIG. 2, the connection includes a grooved stud 50 afiixed to the flap 22, and which extends through a grommet 52 aflixed to the rear panel 12. The grommet has a resilient wire 54 which snaps into the groove of the stud 5 0.

The flap 22 itself is preferably made of transparent plastic material, which has several advantages. Being transparent, the flap 22 does not obstruct the carriers view into the bag so that he readily knows how many papers remain therein without the necessity of pulling up the flap and pushing it to one side. In addition, the plastic flap 22 is more weatherproof than those heretofore employed.

Referring to FIGS. 8 and 9, a modified newspaper bag 56 somewhat resembles the bag 28 of FIG. 3, but has an inelastic or non-resilient bottom. This reduces bouncing and jostling of the papers and also reduces the amount of elastic material required without seriously affecting the capacity of the bag. The bag 56 also enables the front and rear panels and the bottom to be of one piece of non-resilient material. The bag 56 can be used for rolled and unrolled newspapers. The bag 56 has a rear canvas panel or wall 58 and side panels or walls 60 and 62 of elastic material. A canvas bottom 64 and a front panel or wall 66 are also provided. The rear panel 58, the bottom 64, and the front panel 66 are made of one piece of the non-resilient material, in this instance to provide greater strength, less vulnerability, and few manu facturing operations.

The side panels 60 and 62 are similar to the side panels 32 and 34, stretching only horizontally. The panels 60 and 62 are stitched to the bottom non-resilient panel 64 in a stretched condition so that the edges of the panel 64 are undulated or puckered when the stitching is completed and the side panels are allowed to return to their relaxed or unstretc'hed condition. This is more clearly shown in FIG. 9. The stitching of the side edges of the panels 60 and 62 to the front and rear panels 66 and 58 is accomplished with all of the panels relaxed. With this arrangement, the bag 56 with the non-resilient 'bottom 64 has a capacity similar to that of the bag 28. This makes the puckered bottom preferred to one stitched to the side panels when relaxed, but a bag with the latter construction also has a greater capacity and other features not found in a conventional newspaper bag.

The bag 56 also has a diagonal strap 68 similar to the strap 38 to provide better support. The strap also is Wider than conventional ones for greater comfort, and will not crimp together.

The three bags 10, 28, and 56 are of similar configuration and dimensions. The bags are rectangular in horizontal cross section with widths from one-half to three-fourths of the lengths of the bags to provide proper capacity for the papers. The depths of the bags are from at least one-fourth the length of a newspaper, before being folded in two, to one-half theerof. The resilient side panels 60 and 62 constitute from 25% to 50% of the total area of the walls or panels of the bag 56.

Various modifications of the above described embodiments of the invention will be apparent to those skilled in the :art, and it is to be understood that such modifications can be made Without departing from the scope of the invention if they are within the spirit and the tenor of the accompanying claim.

What I claim is:

A newspaper bag for carrying a multiplicity of newspapers of uniforms size on any given day, which newspapers vary 'widely in size from day to day and from season to season, said bag having a bottom, a rear panel, a front panel, and two side panels, said bag being of generally rectangular shape in horizontal cross section, and said panels forming an open top for said bag, said side panels being of elastic material and said front and rear panels being of substantially inelastic material, said 1 bottom of said bag being of substantially inelastic material, said bottom being affixed to the lower edges of said elastic side panels in an undulated configuration when said side panels are relaxed whereby said bottom panel can yield when said bag is stuffed with newspapers, and

a shoulder strap connected to at least one of said panels.

References Cited by the Examiner UNITED STATES PATENTS 523,503 7/ 1894 Al-berschardt 19044 X 1,224,396 5/1917 McCluer -1 1,424,152 8/1922 Charsky 44 X 1,747,801 2/1930 Topal 15O28 2,405,744 8/ 1946 Glass 24444 2,617,504 11/1952 Meyers 150-52 X 2,636,531 4/1953 Kelly 1507 2,693,214 11/1954 Thompson 15052 2,697,465 12/ 1954 Johnson 1501 2,737,221 3/1956 Knox 15044 FOREIGN PATENTS 476,985 9/1951 Canada.

696,432 2/1940 Germany.

607,133 8/ 1948 Great Britain.

JOSEPH R. LECLAIR, Primary Examiner. M. L. MINSK, Assistant Examiner. 

